Archaeological treasures in Georgia

The Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi has a collection of archaelogical treasures. These include urns, cookware, pitchers, ceramic bowls, and paintings.

There is a pitcher (ewer) from Kashan, Iran, dating to the 13^th century, of coloured glass and lustre. The lustreware has a dragon head and handle, while the body is decorated with vertical bands from Firdausi’s Shah-nama (Book of Kings), from the story of Sohrab.

Another ewer is a bronze cast from Afghanistan (1182), made by Mahmud ibn Muhammad al-Haravi. On the neck of the ewer are the traditional well-wishing inscriptions in Kufic script. It has 24 flutes, which are decorated with engraved and inlaid floral motifs, as well as inscriptions in naskh (a Persian verse). The verse is about the ewer, its owner, and the name of the city of Herat.

The 3^rd century AD gilt and white glass pitcher is from Khovle in the Kaspi district of the Shida Kartli region of Georgia. It has the image of Dionysos and mythological characters, with the myth of Bellerophon, thought to be Syrian artisanship.

From the 3^rd century BCE is Pithos, a large urn that holds 1500 litres. It was discovered in 1967 in Samadlo, Mtsheta, in Georgia. It depicts a deer hunt with figures of animals and birds painted in red ochre.

There is also a replica of the Alaverdi acroterium from the 18^th century, made of blue glazed clay. An acroterium is an architectural term for the blocks on the apex (top) of a structure that supports statues or carvings – or even an urn or vase. The real Alaverdi Monastery is a Georgian Eastern Orthodox monastery in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia. It dates back to the 6^th century, although it was replaced with another in the 11^th century. Assyrian monk Joseph Alaverdeli founded the monastery and settled in the village. Its height is over 55 metres, making it the second tallest religious building in Georgia (after the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi). Kakheti is a wine region, so the monks made their own wine, known as Alaverdi Monastery Cellar.

www.museum.ge

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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